


i'm not gonna write you a love song

by thebitterbeast



Series: coldatomweek2k16 [2]
Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, But mostly fluff, ColdAtom Week 2016, M/M, Minor Barry Allen/Iris West/Eddie Thawne, Minor Cisco Ramon/Lisa Snart, coldatomweek2k16, somewhat cracky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-26
Updated: 2016-04-26
Packaged: 2018-06-04 15:31:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6664267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebitterbeast/pseuds/thebitterbeast
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>'Why would he be thinking about an encounter with Lisa’s older brother? Lisa’s very attractive older brother, with the ice-blue eyes, and the way he had been Ray’s hero, pretty much saving Ray’s life. Psht, Ray was totally not thinking about it.'</p><p>Or; Ray develops a crush on his sometime study buddy and doesn't quite know how to deal with it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	i'm not gonna write you a love song

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a short thing. It was! I wanted to use this prompt - “hey, I left my student ID in my room and you’re the first person who’s walked by my building for hours now, I hate to be such a bother but can you pretty please swipe me in, it’s freezing” AU - and this one -“I know that this probably isn’t a good idea but it’s included in the meal plan and I’m stressed out, so I keep hitting the ice cream sundae bar in the buffet style dining hall at least a couple times a week” AU - but the characters just wouldn't stop, and I just kept writing despite not knowing where I was going or what I was doing? They're probably very OOC, but I had fun writing it so I hope you have fun reading it.

Most people his age would just be finishing up their undergrad degrees. Ray Palmer was not an overachiever per se, but he _was_ something of a genius, and as such, he was finishing his second Masters degree.

This meant two things. One, that he was younger than most of his contemporaries, a fact that he had gotten used to the first time he had jumped a few grades; and two, that he had significantly less classes to attend than the few friends he had made since starting his course at Central City University.

It also meant Ray spent far too much time in the labs than he really should, sometimes forgetting that things like sleep and food were important, but he was happier pretending that was not the case and that he was in complete control over his life, dammit.

He could practically hear the laughter of Cisco’s kind-of girlfriend at the thought. Lisa had looked him over the first time they had met, raised an eyebrow and smirked at him before lazily leaning over to Cisco and informing him that Ray’s shirt was on inside out.

They had formed a somewhat tentative and unlikely friendship when Ray had flushed slightly, but shrugged and stripped his shirt off there and then in the middle of the diner, and worn it the right way.

Wait, his internal monologue had a point. He was sure of it.

Shut _up_ , imaginary Lisa.

Anyway, he had been working on his newest project in the lab when it had started to close for the holidays, and apparently he had been holed there for almost two days. It explained why he felt like death warmed over. It also explained why his phone was dead, and why there were way too many empty cans of energy drinks around him.

He had packed up the stuff he needed to work on during the break and left the building after a cheery goodbye and “Happy holidays!” to the amused security guard and assistants still around.

Walking out into the dark had him blinking in surprise, and the brisk wind meant that Ray walked quickly, hunched over so that his coat brushed his ears a little, and his hands were jammed into his pockets. It was a ten minute walk to his dorm. He made it in seven.

Ray began swearing to himself, colourfully but softly when he dug through his bag and his pockets and realized he did not have his student ID. He mournfully cast a glance at the building, shivering in his shoes. He could practically hear Iris’ chiding voice, and **_wow_** , he may have been more codependent on his friends than he thought if he could so accurately imagine their reactions to his actions.

It was pure luck that he even noticed the figure walking by. He had been staring outside his building for what felt like hours – Ray could barely feel his nose, and when he tried to wriggle his toes, they would not move. Was this how frostbite felt? Was he going to lose his toes and fingers? Oh god, was he going to _die_?

The lack of sleep was obviously finally catching up to him.

“Hey,” he tried to call out. His voice was barely a whimper, a cloud of cold air expelling from his lips. He shuffled a few steps, and opened his mouth to try again. Instead, he sneezed. Loudly, and with enough force that he almost toppled over.

That was one way to catch the attention of the only person he had seen out on the streets since he had reached his building. The figure paused, and turned back to him. Ray was not sure, but he thought maybe the man was frowning. As he got closer, he grew recognizable.

There was some concern in the disdain that coloured his, “ _Ray_ mond, what are you doing out here.” Ray was sure of it.

“Leonard,” Ray managed to get out. Lisa’s brother gave him a flat and unimpressed stare. Right, he preferred the shortened version of his name. “Len,” Ray corrected himself. “You wouldn’t happen to have your student ID, would you? I forgot mine and I can’t get it, and it’s cold, and I just realized I’m pretty sure the last time I ate was like, twenty hours ago? Maybe more? Do energy drinks count as food?”

He was cut off abruptly as Len rolled his eyes and put a hand on his shoulder to steer him towards the door. Len took out his ID, swiped it through the scanner, and pushed the door open before pushing Ray into the building. “Get to your room before you die of hypothermia,” he instructed. “Lisa is fond of you, for some undecipherable reason.”

Ray’s lips fought with him, but he curled them into a tiny pleased smile. “Thanks, Len.”

Len did not reply, turning away and raising one hand in either an acknowledgement or a goodbye. Ray stood watching as the older man exited the building. And then he just stood there for a few minutes more before he realized he was still shivering, and he really needed some hot soup and sleep.

* * *

He had put the encounter out of his mind for the rest of his break, focusing instead on dodging his brother’s attempts to drag him into – whatever it was that Sidney was up to these days. It was much easier to delve into working on his projects and his thesis, on letting Barry and Iris drag him to dinner with Eddie, even if he was playing a very amused fourth-wheel. Was that a thing?

Why would he be thinking about an encounter with Lisa’s older brother? Lisa’s very attractive older brother, with the ice-blue eyes, and the way he had been Ray’s hero, pretty much saving Ray’s life. _Psht_ , Ray was totally not thinking about it.

Yeah, he sucked at lying to himself.

Throwing himself into his thesis was much easier. The labs were still closed – it was too cold to open them up – so Ray found himself at the library more often than not. There were piles of books around him, and he had a notebook open, a pen behind his ear, the spectacles he usually forgot to wear resting on his nose and another pen between his lips.

All in all, not the way he wanted to look when he noticed Len at another table with his own notes surrounding him. The pen in his mouth dropped to the table, and Ray ducked his head, wincing. “I’m an idiot,” he groaned into his hands.

“I cannot disagree with that assessment.”

Ray’s neck may have made an odd crack with how fast he looked up, eyes wide. Len had his eyebrows raised at him, an amused smirk on his lips. He had taken the seat across from Ray, his notes in an ordered pile in front of him.

“How long have you been here?” Len asked after the silence threatened to become awkward, especially considering the fact that Ray was still staring at him with a dumbfounded look on his face.

Ray blinked, and pressed his lips together. He looked around him for a second, as if he could tell from the lighting of the room, before looking down at his phone. “Huh,” he huffed out. “Ten hours? No, wait, I got here before the new librarian got in, so – eleven hours.”

When he looked back up, Len was frowning at him. Ray frowned back, confused. “What?”

The older man shook his head, his disapproval obvious. “Nothing,” he bit out.

Ray crossed his arms across his chest. “Obviously not. So, tell me, what?”

Len sighed, as if it pained him to answer. “When was the last time you ate?”

“Lunch,” Ray answered promptly. And then he paused. “Wait, that might have been yesterday.” He made a face as he thought. “Breakfast? I think I had toast?”

The noise that emitted from Len’s mouth might have been impressive if Ray did not know Lisa. And Iris. Their disapproval ranked much higher than Len’s, if he was honest. “Go eat something, _Ray_ mond.”

Ray opened his mouth to protest, but his stomach chose that moment to growl loudly. Len simply leaned back in his chair and raised his eyebrows again, smug and self-assured. Ray scowled and stood up.

His joints ached, but he pretended not to notice. He took his spectacles off and lay them on his notebook before rubbing at his eyes, and running one hand through his hair. The pen that had been behind his ear was knocked down, but Ray caught it swiftly, absently placing it next to his spectacles. He missed the subtly impressed look on Len’s face that faded into appreciation when Ray closed his eyes and _stretched_.

By the time Ray dropped his hands to his side and opened his eyes, Len looked as unaffected as ever. He hesitated. Len rolled his eyes. “Go,” he commanded. “I’ll keep your table for you.”

The younger man tilted his head and narrowed his eyes, before shrugging. “Thanks, Len.” He got nothing but a _‘hmm’_ in response, Len already focused on taking his notes back out and covering the half of the table Ray had not been using. Ray stared for a second before shaking himself out of his stupor and spinning on his feet to leave the library and get something to eat.

* * *

It became a _thing_ then. Sitting together in the library, studying. Ray knew, from Lisa, from Cisco, from _Barry_ who had an odd sort of flirty frienemy thing with Len, that the older man had spent most of his life raising Lisa, and it was only at her insistence that he finally applied for university like he had always wanted. It was clear that Len was a hard-worker. They could, and had, spent hours sitting in silence, the only sounds the ruffling of pages as they looked for the quote they needed, or the scribbling of ideas in the margins of their papers.

Ray liked the camaraderie of it all, but was hesitant to make any comment on it. He had never been good at making friends. It was pure luck that had found him Cisco in one of his classes, and they had clicked enough for Cisco to drag him out and meet the rest of his friends.

The rest, as they said, was history.

Or the present, he supposed. He idly tapped his pen on the corner of his notebook as he gazed at his words without comprehension. He was stuck, had been stuck on this one part of his thesis for a while now, and he could feel the stress headache building behind his eyes.

A hand clasped around his to stop his incessant movement. Len’s blue eyes were narrowed at him, but Ray had gotten better at reading him. He thought. Len was not as annoyed as he was pretending, but worried. “What are you doing.”

Len had this thing where his questions sounded like statements. It was something Ray had noticed, and found quite amusing. He did not know why, he just did. “Nothing?”

Ray, on the other hand, sometimes phrased statements as questions. He was working on that. Sort of.

The older man’s eyes narrowed further. Ray had not known that was possible. He heaved a long-suffering sigh before closing his book and putting his papers in order. Ray frowned in confusion. “Len?”

“Come on then,” he got in reply. Ray continued to stare, lost, as Len stood up, put his folder in his bag, and slung his bag over his shoulder. Len sighed again. “ _Ray_ mond. Pack your stuff. Get up.”

Even as he scrambled to do as Len said, Ray continued to cast confused glances at the other man. “What-”

“We’re going to get something to eat,” Len interrupted. “Because your stressing out is irritating me. And I honestly do not want to hear you ramble about whatever it is you ramble about, so you’re going to eat. _Quietly_.”

Ray opened his mouth, he did not know if he was going to protest or to comply, or to ramble, which _okay_ , he admitted he did. A lot. But Len glared at him, so he snapped his mouth shut and quickly picked his things up and stuffed them in his bag.

He followed silently behind Len as they left the library, a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach. Hanging out with Len in the library was one thing. That was barely _hanging out_ , they were studying. Len dragging him to go eat? This was not helping his ill-fated crush on the older man at all.

The dining hall was almost empty, and Len dropped his bag on the first table he could, silently turning to get a plate and some food. Ray hesitated for a second before shrugging to himself and doing the same.

Len was staring at him when Ray settled in the seat across from him. Ray paused, uncomfortable. “What?” Had he read this whole situation wrong? Was he supposed to sit at another table?

“Is that what you’re eating?” Len asked, clearly disapproving. His upper lip had curled in distaste as he gestured to Ray’s bowl.

Ray looked down at his sundae, and then up at Len. “Yes?” Their dining hall had a sundae bar, and it was Ray’s go-to when he was upset or stressed out. The chocolate and the sugar helped to keep him focused and calm. It was weird, but it worked.

He watched as the other man scowled and shook his head, not responding. They tucked into their chosen meals, not speaking again. Ray got up to refill his sundae bowl, and when he sat back down, Len was staring again, a little aghast.

The older man scowled and looked at his own food, stabbing rather violently at a piece of potato. Ray thought he heard him complain under his breath, but the words sounded like, “Where does it _go_ ,” so he was pretty sure he had misheard Len.

The rest of their meal was spent in silence. It was only at the end, when Ray leaned back in his chair, satisfied with his three bowls of ice-cream, that he grinned at Len, headache gone. “Thanks, Len.”

Len rolled his eyes at him, but Ray was sure that the right side of his mouth had twitched upwards in a smile, so he was going to take it as a win.

* * *

Lisa shot Ray a smirk when he halted at the door, wide-eyed, as he realized Len had joined them at the bar. Thankfully, she was the only one who had noticed, so he just made a face at her. She retaliated by chuckling and nudging Cisco and raising her eyebrows.

He hated his friends, he thought to himself as Cisco wriggled his eyebrows at Ray.

“Your shirt is inside out again, Doc,” Lisa commented.

Ray frowned and looked down at himself. “Damn,” he murmured. “Why do I always do this?”

Lisa leaned forward and put her chin in her hands. “Well? Get on with it, Palmer,” she teased.

Ray made another face at her, but the amusement lurked in his eyes. It was a running joke that Barry would always be late to everything, and Ray would once a week be wearing a shirt that was inside out. And he had no shame in straightening himself out in public, unless it was cold outside.

Though he had done that once too.

He sighed and took his jacket off, handing it to Cisco, who simply chuckled. Iris had begun to grin when she realized what Ray was going to do, and her attention shifting to Ray had caught both Eddie and Len’s attention too. Len was the only one that was confused and shocked when Ray pulled his shirt up and over his head.

“You’ve got such great abs,” Iris sighed, mirroring Lisa’s position and putting her chin in her hand.

Lisa was the only one to catch the “What the _fuck_ ,” her brother muttered under his breath as he stared at Ray.

Ray rolled his eyes at Iris, who grinned as he turned his shirt the right way around and pulled it back on. There was a groan of disappointment behind Ray from a few of the other patrons of the bar, and the man’s cheeks turned pink.

Barry approached just then, and he shook his head in mock-dismay. “Did I miss the show then?”

“Ten bucks says he’ll be wearing a shirt the wrong way around at dinner next week,” Cisco responded immediately.

“Sucker bet,” Barry shot back. “We both know that’s as given as me being late.”

None of them noticed Len’s utter bafflement and the lack of subtlety as he stared at Ray. Except for Lisa. Who was looking between her brother and her friend with a wide grin on her face.

She leaned towards her brother and affected an air of innocence. “Everything okay, Lenny?” Her voice was kept low as the others teased Barry and Ray good-naturedly.

Len did not even bother to try to appear unaffected. “ ** _How_** ,” he stated. “I’ve seen him eat. Junk food. He eats nothing but junk food, Lees.” The only thing that kept Lisa from cracking up was the fact that Len did not bury his head in his hands. That might have pushed her over the edge.

Still, she pat his shoulder in comfort, though her twitching lips gave away just how amused she was. “The time he isn’t studying or in the labs is spent working out,” she said instead.

Len blinked, once, twice, before turning back to Ray, his expression turning calculative. Lisa grinned to herself and turned back to Cisco, who wrapped an arm around her without even looking at her.

* * *

Things were _different_ after then. Len had known that Raymond was an attractive man when he was not speaking. Or moving about. He had the square jaw, and the eyes and height.

It was quite another thing to see him casually strip his shirt off in the middle of a bar and reveal a six-pack that Len could. Not. Stop. Thinking. About.

He was torn between hating the fact that he had Raymond on the brain constantly and wanting to throw said man against the nearest surface and get rid of the shirt. And possibly the rest of his clothes.

It was a dilemma his sister thought was simple. Len liked pretty things, and Raymond was the ultimate pretty thing. Len had scowled at her and complained about his constant talking.

Lisa had cheekily told him to give Raymond’s mouth something else to do.

Len could not stop staring at Raymond’s mouth, now. Considering the fact that Raymond did. Not. Stop. Talking, this was not a good thing.

At least Raymond was distracted all the time and never noticed just where Len’s eyes landed. He was muttering to himself now, the spectacles Len could not decide if he loved or loathed perched at the tip of his nose like he was some sort of elderly librarian. Len should have been focusing on his own notes.

Should have been.

Instead, his hand had paused, still poised to write down the thought that he had lost already, his gaze firmly on the way Raymond’s lips formed the words he was writing down, the furrow between his eyes deepening the more he wrote. And then.

And then.

Raymond took his bottom lip between his lips and bit down, his frown growing more pronounced. He was tapping his pen absently against his lips.

Was he _trying_ to bring all of Len’s attention to his lips?

Because it was working.

Dammit.

He put his pen down carefully and began to put his papers in order. Turns out _that_ was what got Raymond’s attention. The younger man’s frown was turned towards Len. “You’re leaving?”

“Ye-ah,” he would never admit he stumbled over his words when he noticed how pink Raymond’s bottom lip was. “Obviously,” he caught himself and raised an eyebrow at the other man.

“Oh,” Raymond seemed to deflate at that. It made Len pause. Raymond ducked his head, but not before Len noticed the disappointment on his face.

He set his bag back down. “ _Ray_ mond,” he narrowed his eyes at the younger man. “Out with it.”

Raymond refused to look back up, fiddling instead with the pen in his hand. That drew Len’s attention to his fingers. Such long, elegant fingers they were.

Focus, Len.

“It’s nothing,” the other man said, still not looking up. Len could make out the forced smile on Raymond’s lips. “Sorry. It’s nothing.”

Len continued to stare at Raymond. The younger man fidgeted under his gaze, but did not lift his eyes. It was not the first time Len had noticed something off with Raymond, and what he knew of his sister’s friend suggested that for all his smiles and good nature, despite the easy way he took the teasing he got, Raymond was not as confident as he portrayed himself. Yes, he knew he was smart, he knew his work, but Lisa had confided that she thought maybe Raymond did not know his _worth_.

Sometimes Len hated it when his sister was right.

About more than she ever needed to know.

He sighed and folded his arms across his chest. “ _Ray_ mond,” he drawled again, a hint of impatience in his voice. “Look at me.”

Raymond set his jaw. Len could see the tension creep through his frame before he lifted his gaze to meet Len’s. He swallowed, almost imperceptibly, before smiling brightly at Len. If he were anyone else, he would not have noticed anything different in Raymond’s expression.

He was _not_ anyone else, and he had mentally been cataloguing Raymond’s expressions and smiles for a while now, even if he had not realized he was doing it.

That was one of Raymond’s fake smiles. The ones he would give his brother and their mutual family friends, the ones he would wear after his professor had mocked the lab he had worked so hard on.

Len _hated_ those smiles.

Fuck, these were _feelings_.

There were actual _feelings_. He was okay with being attracted to the man, he had not anticipated _feelings_. He should have, but he had not, and as such, he was unprepared.

Raymond’s smile faltered as Len remained silent. “Len?” Now he sounded worried, and Len gathered his wits about him.

“It wasn’t nothing, so tell me,” it was a command. Raymond looked like he was going to avoid his gaze again, and Len’s tone sharpened. “Do _not_ look away from me, Raymond.”

He hesitated, and he was obviously choosing his words carefully. “I – focus better when you’re here,” he said softly. It was not all the truth, but the admission hit Len somewhere in the chest.

Len swallowed, and asked lightly, “And?”

The other man’s gaze flickered to the side and back again to Len. He seemed to steel himself, and Len thought he might be preparing for rejection. “And I like spending time with you,” his words were soft, but sincere. He clenched his jaw slightly and met Len’s gaze, cautious but daring.

Fuck, this was man was a bunch of contradictions that Len did not know what to do with.

No, Len knew what to do with him. Len knew what he _wanted_ to do with him. He wanted to figure him out. He wanted to know more about what made Raymond tick. He wanted to know all about Raymond Palmer, and then some.

“Okay,” was all he said instead.

Raymond startled, and he squinted his eyes at Len as if this was not what he had expected. “Okay?” he repeated.

Len kept the smirk that threatened to play on his lips off his face as he stalked around the table. Raymond followed his movement with his eyes, pressing his lips into a firm line. It appeared Raymond was trying to figure Len out the way Len had been trying to do the same to him.

“Okay,” he said again when he reached Raymond’s side. He leaned his hip onto the table. “Stand up.”

“What-” Len cut him off with a roll of his eyes and a tug at the collar of his shirt. He did not let go even once Raymond was towering over him. The confused look on Raymond’s face did not disappear, though he did lose the tension that had been enveloping him.

Len looked up at Raymond, letting his lips twitch up into a smile. “Hmm,” the right side of his mouth quirked further. “This could work.”

Raymond opened his mouth, the furrows between his eyes deepening. Len took a step into Raymond’s space and pulled at Raymond’s shirt enough that their lips met. It was a few seconds before Raymond got the hint and began to kiss back, tentative at first, before his hand wrapped around Len’s waist and pulled him even closer.

Yeah. This could work.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to come yell at me over on [tumblr](http://ankahikoibaat.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
